The family and management have been working on an exit plan for over five or six years.

2. You mention on your website that you had discussions on what to do with your "aging property." What role did the property's condition play in closing the business?

We were talking [on the website] about the structures on the property but that was just a small part. The main thing is it was time. We have staff that has been here over 30, 40 and 50 years. We have some wonderful young people also, but it just was time. Albert and Rose Behnke's children are in their late 70's and 80's.

3. What will happen to the property?

The family is working with the county to develop it.

4. What has been the reaction from the community?

Overwhelming! We have had an outpouring of love and many have taken the time to come out to see us. I am so humbled.

5. What's next for the Behnke team?

Many will be retiring. I am hoping to keep our website up and running [so] hopefully we can let folks know where some of our staff lands, plus I would like if there is interest from other IGC's to let our customers know about their garden centers.

Studio M names Margo Tantau as new director of product innovation

Studio M announced today that creative expert Margo Tantau was hired as its new head of product innovation.

Tantau brings over 20 years of experience in the home, gift, and design industry to the company. In her role as director of product innovation, she will lead the development of creative new concepts for hundreds of new products Studio M releases throughout the year.

"Margo is tapped into current trends and has a wealth of knowledge about manufacturing for the independent retail channel. She'll bring fresh ideas and insights to the table, and I can't wait to see her influence on our product mix. Her eye for unique design and high standard for quality ensure we can continue to offer creative, successful product lines to our retailers each season," Tammy Hickel, executive VP of sales and marketing at Studio M said.

"We're blessed to have Margo join us," Curt Todd, Studio M's CEO said. "She is among the most respected creative experts in the industry. We've turned her loose and I'm excited to see what's in store for our customers."

Before being hired at Studio M, Tantau held creative leadership roles at Creative Co-Op, Madison Park Group, Midwest-CBK, and Hallmark. Alongside Lilla Rogers, Tantau teaches "Creating Collections for Home Décor," part of the popular Make Art that Sells series and has been tapped to create additional online courses. She also has her own creative consulting firm – helping artists, entrepreneurs, and companies develop brand presence, grow business, and more.

"I've been a part of some large companies with long-standing reputations, but Studio M made me feel like I was getting back to my roots. Curt and Sue always stood out to me as fun, hardworking people who appreciate artful product and innovation and really care about their company. The pride they have in their employee family and their dedication to quality product is so evident - you can tell by the tenure of many of the employees that something is going right. Studio M's development team is so collaborative, supportive, and full of ideas. I know together we'll do great things," Tantau said.

Proven Winners inspires a new generation of students through the Collegiate Plant Initiative

For the second year, Proven Winners is supporting the Collegiate Plant Initiative (CPI), a student-run organization founded at the University of Florida with the goal of connecting college students with plants and opportunities in the horticulture industry. Proven Winners is providing a total of 6,000 pots of the Annual of the Year, Lemon Coral Sedum, to give away at CPI’s Plant Drops on six university campuses this year.

“Proven Winners is thrilled to be working with the young, entrepreneurial-minded folks at CPI who are so excited to be sharing their love of plants and gardening with their peers across the nation at selected campuses,” said Marshall Dirks, director of marketing for Proven Winners.

CPI’s initiatives target college students who have an interest in plants but don’t have much experience growing or shopping for them. “By showing these students how easy it can be to select and take care of plants, we are encouraging the purchase of plants and related goods,” according to the Collegiate Plant Initiative’s website.

Plant Drops take place every spring and fall at participating universities. One thousand plants are distributed to crowds of students gathered in the center of their college campuses. Basic care instructions are provided with the plants to help the students grow them successfully.

A primary focus of CPI is connecting students from a wide variety of majors into the plant industry, understanding that people with all kinds of skills are needed to make the supply chain function. By giving free plants to students studying accounting, business, law, environmental studies, chemistry, art and more, they are exposing them to the world of plants.

CPI student leaders will distribute Lemon Coral Sedum at these six university Plant Drops in 2019:

GardenComm Annual Conference & Expo set for Salt Lake City

GardenComm will host its Annual Conference & Expo in Salt Lake City Sept. 4-7. The event will feature education sessions, networking meetups, and a showcase of new plant varieties, products and services, tailored to garden communicators.

The conference will kick off with a keynote presentation from Martha Barnette, co-host of the public-radio show “A Way with Words” and author of three books on word origins: A Garden of Words, Ladyfingers & Nun’s Tummies: A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names, and Dog Days & Dandelions. Her presentation will explore language and how to best apply it as garden communicators.

Additional conference sessions are tailored to professional communicators from across the green industry, including authors, bloggers, marketers, editors, photographers, and TV and radio personalities. Topics include tips and tricks for writing, digital technology, business marketing and publishing.

Attendees will have special access to Salt Lake City gardens as well as tours of private farms, including:

Thursday, Sept. 5:

Downtown & Avenues Historic

• LDS Church

• IHC Healing Garden

• Historic home gardens in Salt Lake City’s Avenues neighborhood

Food Production & Edible Gardens

• Urban Garden Company

• LDS Church’s “Welfare Square”

• New Roots Garden

• Wasatch Community Gardens “Grateful Tomato Garden”

Friday, Sept. 6:

Small City Lot Tour

• Homes in the Yalecrest & Sugarhouse neighborhoods

• Red Butte Gardens

Food Production & Edible Gardens

• Estate gardens in the Walker Lane/Holladay area and private gardens on 1 acre+ lots

Saturday, Sept. 7:

Plant Research & North Gardens

• Utah Botanical Center

South Valley & New Urbanist Tour

• Conservation Garden Park

• Daybreak, a planned mega-sized, new-home community

Sunday, Sept. 8:

Park City (half day)

• A half day will be spent in Park City to view mountain-modern style landscapes.

Proven Winners ColorChoice crowns its 2019 Shrub Madness winner

Proven Winners ColorChoice crowned its 2019 Shrub Madness winner. Based on the college basketball playoffs, the contest is populated with a wide variety of Proven Winners ColorChoice shrubs, which compete throughout the month of March for the chance to be crowned National Champion.

The last round of voting found Tuff Stuff Ah-Ha hydrangea with a slim lead over challenger Suñorita rose, but it steadily gained traction. In the final few hours of the competition, the hardy hydrangea defeated the winsome rose and was crowned the 2019 Shrub Madness National Champion.

Brand new to garden centers in 2019, Tuff Stuff Ah-Ha mountain hydrangea has large, waterlily-like double florets. It is also one of the most prolific reblooming hydrangeas ever seen. All summer long, it devotes its energies to creating flower buds on its new growth so that there is a constant supply of blooms from early summer through frost.

Developed six years ago, Shrub Madness is one example of how Proven Winners puts its marketing dollars to work to bring attention to its plants, and as a result, bring more customers into their local garden centers.

"Shrub Madness is the perfect vehicle to find out first-hand what shrubs are most interesting gardeners this year,” PR specialist Natalie Carmolli said. “It’s also a great way to spur some interest in newer varieties."

The competition also gives folks at Proven Winners ColorChoice an opportunity to challenge internal preconceived notions about which plants might be most popular with the public. The additional information that is gained as a result of the contest helps to inform marketing decisions going forward.

When asked if the contest seems to be gaining traction, Spring Meadow horticulturist Stacey Hirvela said, "This has been a fantastic year for Shrub Madness. This year we had over 6,000 participants who cast over 287,000 votes. There’s simply no better, more cost-effective way to bring attention to so many plants."

This year the Shrub Madness team took their popular “Shrubs Center” broadcast to Facebook Live, broadcasting at the beginning of each round of voting. Players were once again given several opportunities to score samples of top-scoring plants including the grand prize “Floral Four and Plant Geek Swag Bag.”